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91_SB1888eng SB1888 Engrossed LRB9113291NTks 1 AN ACT to amend the School Code by adding Article 1E. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The School Code is amended by adding Article 5 1E as follows: 6 (105 ILCS 5/Art. 1E heading new) 7 ARTICLE 1E. ILLINOIS EDUCATIONAL INSPECTOR GENERAL 8 (105 ILCS 5/1E-5 new) 9 Sec. 1E-5. Illinois Educational Inspector General. 10 (a) The State Board of Education shall appoint an 11 Illinois Educational Inspector General, based on a 12 recommendation made by the State Superintendent of Education 13 and with the advice and consent of the Senate, who shall have 14 the authority to conduct investigations into allegations or 15 incidents of waste, fraud, and financial mismanagement in 16 public education grades prekindergarten through 12 by any 17 employee, officer, board member, or contractor of any 18 regional office of education, educational service center, 19 joint agreement program, school district, charter school, or 20 the State Board of Education or involving public educational 21 projects managed or handled by third party agents. The 22 Illinois Educational Inspector General shall be appointed for 23 a term of 3 years and shall be independent of the operation 24 of the State Board of Education. 25 (b) The Illinois Educational Inspector General shall 26 have access to all information and personnel necessary to 27 perform the duties of the office. If the Illinois 28 Educational Inspector General determines that a possible 29 criminal act has been committed or that special expertise is 30 required in the investigation, the Illinois Educational SB1888 Engrossed -2- LRB9113291NTks 1 Inspector General shall immediately notify the Illinois State 2 Police and the Illinois Attorney General's Office. All 3 investigations conducted by the Illinois Educational 4 Inspector General shall be conducted in a manner that ensures 5 the preservation of evidence for use in criminal 6 prosecutions. 7 (c) At all times the Illinois Educational Inspector 8 General shall be granted access to any building or facility 9 that is owned or leased by any regional office of education, 10 educational service center, joint agreement program, school 11 district, charter school, or the State Board of Education. 12 (d) The Illinois Educational Inspector General shall 13 have the power to subpoena witnesses and compel the 14 production of books, papers, software, or other materials 15 pertinent to any investigation authorized by this Section. 16 Any person who (i) fails to appear in response to a subpoena; 17 (ii) fails to answer any question; (iii) fails to produce any 18 books, papers, software, or other materials pertinent to an 19 investigation; or (iv) knowingly gives false testimony during 20 an investigation is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. 21 (e) The Inspector General appointed pursuant to Article 22 34 shall on a monthly basis report to the Illinois 23 Educational Inspector General the status of all pending 24 investigations. The Illinois Educational Inspector General 25 shall have the authority to determine whether, in a specific 26 investigation, a conflict of interest exists between the 27 ability of the Inspector General appointed pursuant to 28 Article 34 to continue to report to, or make recommendations 29 to, the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees or successive 30 Boards and the Inspector General's ability to conduct the 31 specific investigation. In such instances, the Inspector 32 General appointed pursuant to Article 34 shall report 33 directly to the Illinois Educational Inspector General. This 34 reporting arrangement shall be limited to investigations SB1888 Engrossed -3- LRB9113291NTks 1 under this subsection (e). 2 (f) The Illinois Educational Inspector General shall 3 provide to the State Board of Education, the President of the 4 Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the 5 House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of 6 Representatives, and the Governor a summary of reports and 7 investigations made under this Section for the previous 8 fiscal year no later than December 1 of each year. The 9 summary shall detail the final disposition of those reports 10 and investigations and shall also include detailed 11 recommended administrative actions and matters for 12 consideration by the General Assembly. The summary shall not 13 contain any confidential or identifying information 14 concerning the subjects of the reports and investigations, 15 disclosure of which may violate privacy laws or endanger any 16 ongoing investigations. 17 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on 18 July 1, 2000.